Intensive Fostering

What is Intensive Fostering?

Intensive fostering is designed to provide care and support to children and young people generally aged between 10 years and over with significant and complex needs. It is a type of foster care that goes beyond the traditional foster caring model and requires foster carers who have additional training and experience in working with children who have experienced trauma, abuse, or have significant emotional and behavioural difficulties.

Intensive fostering aims to provide a nurturing and loving environment for children who may have had disrupted or challenging early life experiences. These children may have experienced neglect, abuse, multiple disruptions in their care arrangements.  As a result, they may exhibit distressed behaviour's, have emotional difficulties, or struggle with building healthy relationships and attachments

In intensive fostering, foster carers receive training and ongoing support from Supervising Social Workers and other professionals to help them meet the specific needs of the child in their care. They may work closely with various professionals to develop and implement individualized care plans and interventions that address the child's emotional, behavioural, and developmental needs.

The goal of intensive fostering is to provide a healing and therapeutic environment where children can develop a sense of safety, trust, and stability. Foster carers in this program are trained to use trauma-informed approaches and therapeutic techniques to support the child's emotional well-being and help them develop healthy coping mechanisms and social skills.

Intensive fostering can be a challenging but rewarding experience for foster carers. It requires a high level of commitment, patience, and empathy. The ultimate aim is to help children in care overcome their past traumas, develop resilience, and achieve positive outcomes in their lives.

Overall, intensive fostering plays a crucial role in providing care and support to children and young people with significant complex needs, giving them the opportunity to heal, grow, and thrive in a safe and nurturing family environment.

Intensive fostering criteria

If you are considering becoming an intensive foster carer, there are some additional requirements:

• You must have extensive experience caring for or working with children and young people
• You must have experience of working with children who have experienced trauma and be able to offer one-to-one support to children and young people.
• You must be able to be at home on a full-time basis with availability to attend any relevant meetings in respect of the child/young person.
• You must not have any other children living in the household under 16 years of age.
• You must be able to cope with the challenges the role may present on a daily basis, including fitting around existing commitments.
• You must be willing to undertake mandatory training.
• You must be willing to attend support groups.
• You must be willing to provide short breaks to other carers.
• All members of the household must be willing to be part of the assessment process.
• Any members of the household over the age of 16 must be willing to undertake a disclosure Scotland check.

To become an intensive foster carer, it is also desirable that:

• You have a robust extended network of support available.
• You have a qualification in childcare equivalent to HNC/SVQ Level 3 and/or are willing to work towards one.
• You are able to set clear and realistic boundaries in response to demanding, and challenging behaviours in response to distress while retaining a therapeutic parenting approach.

What support is available?  

An enhanced package of support is available to intensive foster carers in addition to the all the other supports we offer.

• Intensive foster carers will receive an enhanced fee element within their fostering allowance.
• A family support worker will be available to provide planned one to one support to the children and young people in your care. 
• Supervising social workers for intensive foster placements will visit at a minimum of every two weeks but generally, more frequently as a more intensive level of support is required. The supervising social workers will always maintain at least weekly telephone contact with their carers.
• Carers will have the opportunity to meet with other intensive foster carers at a dedicated regular support group, facilitated by supervising social workers.
• There will be regular meetings involving your supervising social worker and key professionals involved with the young person.
• Carers are required to attend all mandatory in-house training events and other relevant training identified by the carer or their supervising social worker.

Intensive Fostering Fees and Allowances

Intensive Foster Carers are paid a weekly fee of £552.12, paid four-weekly (£2208.48 per four weeks). 

Below you will find a breakdown of the total allowance paid each week for each child / young person.  This covers clothing, pocket money and maintenance and is also paid every four weeks.

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